Post by QPR Report on Aug 9, 2009 7:47:08 GMT
Has a book out...Looking for a job...(No QPR Mention in the Q&A; maybe in the book?)
The Sunday Times
Best and worst: Osvaldo Ardiles
The former Argentina international looks back over a career that encompassed winning the World Cup and playing for Tottenham
What was the best moment of your career?
In terms of achievement, it was winning the 1978 World Cup. In terms of the way I played football, it would be the four years after that World Cup, a beautiful time I spent in England. It was a pleasure playing in that Tottenham team, winning things. Obviously, the World Cup was very special. It happens only every four years and you know you are going to be playing against the cream of the cream. Everything happened so quickly, though, and because I was young I didn’t have time to reflect on anything. One day I was playing club football in Cordoba, then in Buenos Aires for the national team, then at the World Cup and then in England.
The World Cup final was a very nervous affair. Holland were a super team with experience and strength. They were the best side in the world in 1974, but they had one serious omission in 1978 in Johan Cruyff. We had the better of the first 45 minutes but they had the better of the second half and nearly won it when Rob Rensenbrink hit the post. I don’t know how he didn’t score because from where I was standing the ball was going in. In extra time, we were the superior team. We were more powerful, had more energy and had help from the crowd, and finished up winning 3-1.
It was a miracle I even played in the final. If it had been any other game I would not have played. I had a broken toe in my left foot but Cesar Luis Menotti, the manager, believed I was important to the team. So I had an injection and was fine for the first half. As soon as the second half started, I knew I would have to be substituted. It would have been a tragedy to have missed the final after being involved in all the preparation and the games leading up to it. Luckily, I was able to play and contribute in some way.
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Who was the best player you played against?
I never liked playing against Brazil. I shouldn’t say this as an Argentinian, but whoever beats Brazil in the World Cup will be the champions. It is as simple as that. They have incredible talent and are always there or thereabouts. In English football terms, Graeme Souness and Bryan Robson were two wonderful and tough players.
Who was the best manager you played under?
The two most influential managers were Menotti for Argentina and Keith Burkinshaw for Tottenham. Menotti influenced how I played. Burkinshaw had a no-nonsense approach. He didn’t use elegant words or tactical wonders but was right the majority of the time.
What was the best thing about being a footballer in your era?
To be able to play the game. For a person who loves the sport you cannot beat that feeling.
And the worst thing?
To be injured for two or three months is depressing. Your team-mates wish you well and try to cheer you up but when they then go running or jumping and you cannot, that is the worst thing.
Who is the best young player in the Premier League?
If I had to choose one player in England, it would be Ashley Young at Aston Villa. There is arrogance about him and he is very direct. A wonderful player.
What was your worst moment?
Although not connected with football, it was the Falklands war. It was between the country in which I was born and the country that had adopted me, and the fact that people were dying there was terrible. Whether they were Argentinian or British, it didn’t matter to me. I was in a lose-lose situation. That was particularly difficult.
AND WHERE ARE YOU NOW?
I want to manage a football team again. I have managed teams all over the world, including Tottenham, and get a real buzz out of getting a side to play the way I envisage. I would love to manage in England again but that is difficult because people perceive me as having been away for a long time. I did well managing in Argentina and then went to Paraguay, where I last managed, but things did not go particularly well there. I am considering various options. I live in Broxbourne in Hertfordshire and my wife, Silvia, and I recently became grandparents for the first time. We had three grandchildren born on the same day in June. My granddaughter, Sofia, was eight days late and the twin boys, Sebastian and Benjamin, were three weeks premature, so the timing was absolutely perfect.
- Ossie’s Dream by Ossie Ardiles is published by Bantam Press (£18.99)
www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/tottenham/article6788516.ece